Home Again, Home Again
by Agent LastWish
Summary: After their car explodes, DiNozzo and McGee are thrown into the back of a semi, set off down the freeway, driving hours on end. Exhausted, injured and alone, the pair must work together to survived the Road-Trip From Hell, and make it back home alive.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is my newest story, Home Again, Home Again. And for those of you who are still following All Good Things, I am so so sorry! I know it's been a long time (almost a month) since I've updated, but I've gone through some problems in my social life so... yeah. But I'm working hard on it, and I should have the next chapter out by Thursday!

This story I promise I'll try and update more frequently!

**HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN**

**PAIRINGS: **N/A

**CHARACTERS: **McGee and DiNozzo mainly, but Gibbs and Ziva and Abby will show up, possibly Ducky as well (But I'm horrible at writing Ducky so...)

**DESCRIPTION: **After their car explodes, DiNozzo and McGee are thrown into the back of a semi, set off down the freeway, driving hours on end. Exhausted, injured and alone, the pair must work together to survived the Road-Trip From Hell, and make it back home alive.

**DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. **

**ENJOY!**

* * *

"I blame you for this,"

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

It was a warm August night. Being a new moon, the night was awfully dark, with only the stars and the dim headlights to illuminate the lonely stretch of highway traveled on now, by a sole truck driver. Low volume country music and chirping crickets made the sleepy night even sleepier. The nearest city was a good two hours behind them. The truck dipped into one of the many common potholes. Such a perfect, quiet night…

Which couldn't stay quiet for long. Much to the chagrin of the driver, the truck lurched into yet another pothole (this road was in serious need of attention), switching the radio station to something loud and obnoxious-

The news.

"-_re fighters have finally managed to put out the flaming car before the gas pumps could be ignited. Damage to the 7-Eleven was minimal, and luckily no one was hurt. Witnesses claim the car, in question, seemed to have combusted without provocation. While the cause of the explosion is unknown, police officials speculate a bomb as being the most probable cause. The two passengers, Anthony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee had disappeared after the explosion. The only other vehicle sighted in the vicinity during the time was a large blue truck bearing a yellow Wal-Mart logo. Based on speculations by local authorities, it is believed the two men maybe in the restraint of the truck. Blood splatter on the ground has confirmed that one or both of the two men maybe injured from the blast. If you have any information, please contact- KKKKKKKKKKSSSHHHHHHZZZZ – satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song," _

Admittedly, the driver wasn't much a fan of Taylor Swift, however, it was better than the blasted news. It was much too peaceful a night to further deal with such malice.

Besides, he had… precious cargo to deliver.

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

"I blame you for this,"

McGee choked out a weary laugh at DiNozzo's childish comment. "…If I remember correctly, it was you and your obsession with powdered doughnuts that got us into this situation," McGee responded wearily, sounding more amused than annoyed. In all honesty, the young agent barely had the energy to keep himself upright, and engaging in an argument with his partner was definitely pushing it. But he responded anyways, knowing it would make Tony feel a lot better if he did.

"Oh yeah, like I knew Svetlana's goons had been tailing us all day, waiting for us to stop so they could put a bomb under our car," DiNozzo scoffed, rolling his eyes a little. "They wouldn't even have been after us is you hadn't hacked into their mainframe or whatever!"

"I was just doing my job, Tony…" McGee spoke slowly, his slurred words tumbling out in a lethargic, jumbled mass. He sounded so… broken.

DiNozzo paused, swallowing hard. His petty arguing wasn't out of spite; he was arguing just for the sake of arguing- trying to engage McGee in any sort of conversation he could. Trying to keep in awake by any means. It pained him to keep jabbing at McGee like that, but at this point it was all he could do. Two hours into the drive, and the adrenaline was wearing off, shock was setting in and… He didn't want to loose another partner. Not after Kate. And, even though she was back, Ziva's disappearance had made Tony's desire to protect his partner that much more adamant.

"Honestly McGee, you should be thanking me," Tony remarked.

McGee's response came after a pause lasting several terrifying moments. "…How… How so?" His breath was becoming ragged.

"If I hadn't been talking about powdered doughnuts, the idea of a doughnut wouldn't have been ingrained in your mind. So when we stopped, you wouldn't have wanted to come in and get one of your stupid chocolate glazed doughnuts with the sprinkles that you're just going to pick off anyways-" At this point, DiNozzo was rambling. He didn't really have a solid argument so he was just listing off whatever stupid thought popped into his head no matter how little sense it made. "You would've just stayed in the car and they would've gunned you down and you'd be dead,"

McGee gave a small, tired chuckle.

The truck lurched, probably hitting another pothole, and both agents grunted, although McGee was left gasping a little bit.

The two federal agents were in the back of an empty Wal-Mart truck, in the middle of the night going God knows where. Rendered unconscious –or dazed at least- from the explosion, somehow the driver had forced both of them into the back of the truck. Sitting on the floor back to back, legs bound by zip ties at the ankle, a single piece of rope was bound around both of their wrists, preventing either of them moving from their back-to-back position –preventing DiNozzo from giving the attention McGee so desperately needed.

The truck lurched again. DiNozzo's heart dropped to his stomach when he felt his pants slowly grow wet-

Blood.

Tony could feel the younger agent leaning heavily against him, his breaths becoming shallower and hitching ever so slightly as the pain was beginning to set it, no doubt. Tony turned around as best he could to get a better look at Tim's front. He hadn't really had the chance to examine the boy's wounds. Tony himself was a little bruised and cut, maybe a couple of burns here and there, but then again, he was still exiting the 7-Eleven when the bomb had gone off. McGee, on the other hand, was a good seven, eight feet away. In all fairness, it was a miracle that he wasn't dead. Kate… Kate was watching over him.

It was hard to get a really good view because of both the dark and the awkward angle, but the senior field agent could clearly see the many small shards of the window shield sticking out of the probie's body in various places. His shirt was awful charred and he could only assume there were some fairly nasty burns underneath. But that's not what gave him chills, and made him tremble.  
What really scared him was the two-inch diameter pipe sticking out of the young agent's side.

Almost as if he could sense the sudden anxiety that had overcome his partner, McGee cracked one eye open and eyed DiNozzo.

"You okay?" He croaked. "You're shaking… you cold? You can have my jacket it you want… I'm too hot anyways,"

Tony shook his head and let out a laugh because of the stupidity of it all. Here's McGee, bleeding out with a freakin' _pipe in his gut_, worrying about his partner being a little bit _chilly. _"I'm _fine_, McGee," He sounded exasperated, but that's not how he'd meant to come across. After a pause he spoke again. "What about you, McGee? You doing okay?"

It took a long time before the tired, slurred response came: "…Peachy,"

Tony couldn't help but laugh a little, and McGee gave a weak grin. But quickly, Tony's smile faded. "Hey, I'm gonna get you outta here, okay?" He said, sounding soft.

McGee nodded.

"No, listen. I'm gonna get you outta here. But you gotta promise me something. You gotta promise me you're not gonna die, okay? You here me? I want you to promise me. McGee? Tim? Promise,"

McGee slowly turned to face his partner to the best of his abilities. He gave a weak smile that was about as this as watercolor. He took a long time, breathing heavily, to muster up the energy to speak, but finally, he spoke. "I promise, Tony… I promise…"

* * *

I know, the end's a little sappy, but hey, brotherly love my friends!


	2. Chapter 2

The last half an hour had been Hell. The road was in very serious need of repair. All the bumbling around and dipping in and out of pot holes was making Tony feel sick. And the distinct smell of marawanna wasn't really helping his upset stomach either.

"I think I'm gonna hurl…" He complained, mumbling to himself.

"I swear to God, Tony, if you puke on me I'll kill you," McGee said, a painful slurring heavy laddened over his words.

Tony chuckled a little bit. He was really proud of McGee- he was fighting really hard to honor his promise. Tony didn't really know how much longer McGee could keep it up for, but for now he was… he was responsive at least. And Tony was really relieved that even in their dire situation, even with McGee as critically wounded as he was- that he hadn't lost his humor yet. Any other person in the world, two and a half hours after getting a freakin' pipe pierced into their gut, would most likely be dead. But not McGee. McGee was still alive. Still awake. Still responsive. Gibbs would be proud. Tony sure as heck was.

There was an awkward pause for a moment, neither of them spoke. Just a bit of silence. The thunking of the wheels on the road made them feel tired. The odd flash of light streamed in through the cracks in the top of the semi every once and a while.

"We must be in a town," Tony observed the flashes of light. There was a comforting pattern to it; the orange tinted light would just suddenly appear- no brighter than a gentle glow, taking on fuzzy geometric shapes. The light would start out up near the front of the semi, and quickly travel to the back, where it would disappear. There was a pause of darkness and the light would appear back up at the front of the semi. Front, back, dark. Front, back, dark. Front, back, dark. It was very rhythmic, and no doubt came from the light cast by the evenly spaced street lights on the side of the road. DiNozzo found it rather comforting.

"Must be a ghost town, though. I don't hear any other cars,"

"Mh..." Was McGee's only response.

"Hey, McPipe-Butt," Tony shook his shoulders to jostle his partner. "Stay awake,"

McGee breathed a listless attempt at a laugh. "McPipe-Butt?"

Tony laughed. He didn't really know why; it was all just so _stupid!_ He shook his head. "Don't be a McHater, McGeek," He said. "I'm not creative when I'm tired!"

Again, McGee breathed that sad, broken laugh. He said something along the lines of "a sorry excuse, DiNozzo," but the young agent's words were so slurred, it was unclear exactly _what _he was trying to say.

A look of concern flashed across Tony's face, briefly. Silence. No one spoke. Tony's concern only deepened when McGee slumped, leaning forward heavily.

"Hey, McGee," Tony said. "McGee!" No response. "Come on McGee wake up! Tim!"

Finally, McGee began to stir. He sat up again. "Hm…" He groaned painfully.

"Welcome back to the land of the living,"

McGee frowned and looked confused. "… Tony?" He asked groggily, sounding confused. Tony frowned. He didn't understand why McGee sounded so confused. He'd been here the whole time! Unless…

"What are you doing here?" McGee asked, and Tony's fears were confirmed. Shock. It was getting worse. McGee looked around slowly, as if what he was seeing wasn't sinking in. "Wh-where are we?" He sounded… scared…

Tony's heart sunk down to his stomach. "We're in the back of a semi truck. Don't 'cha remember, Tim?" He asked.

"…N-n-no…"

McGee's head sunk down to his chest, and Tony swallowed hard. _I gotta get outa these ropes!_ He thought desperately.

The truck suddenly came to a stop, the gentle rumble of the engine going silent. _The driver must've park. I bet we're at a gas station…_

Tony's eyes flitted about the inside of the truck. Slowly, his eyes fell on a lighter, not to far away from his foot… Squirming around (much to the chagrin of McGee) he managed to reach the lighter with his foot and slid it back to where he could grab it in his hand. He flicked it on and held it under the ropes that bound the two agents.

"Ow… Ow… ow! Ow!" McGee whimpered, trying to squirm out of the reach of the heat. "Tony, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Getting out of these ropes,"

"Ow! Ow! Tony, stop! Stop!" McGee cried loudly.

DiNozzo grit his teeth. _Come on, come on… almost there… _"Sh! Shut up, McGee! You're going to attract unwanted attention!" Tony's voice cracked ever so slightly from the pain.

McGee was weakly squirming around, trying his best not to cry out.

Tony was just about to give up, when finally, finally, the rope burned through and snapped. DiNozzo wrenched away his hands as fast as he could, rubbing the painfully. He exhaled sharply.

McGee grit his teeth, not looking well. Tony used the lighted to burn through the ropes around his legs (this time with much more precision) and when he was free, turned around to catch McGee, who by then was going limp and falling over. Tony laid the young agent down on an old, raggedy blanket to make him more comfortable. He wrapped the edges of the blanket around McGee's shoulders, being extra careful about the pipe. Tony sighed in relief- at least the bleeding had stopped.

Tony fumbled for his phone (which luckily, he'd had in his pocket) and took it out in hopes he could call NCIS.

**No service.**

Tony grit his teeth when he read that. But still, he was grateful he had the phone- as a light source. "Hey, McGee- Tim," Tony started, kneeling by his partner's head. "Look, I know you're tired but I need you to open your eyes, okay? Don't go to sleep yet," Tony instructed.

McGee groaned and let his eyes flicker open. Tony held the phone up to his partner's head, shining the light in his eyes. Again, he sighed in relief. "No concussion," He said.

""s that mean I c'n sleep now?" He asked.

Tony gave a gentle smile. "Yeah, get some rest," He said. He didn't need to tell him twice.

Tony stood up, feeling a bit wobbly. He ran over to the other end of the semi. Peering out of a crack in the wall, he looked around to see if the driver was anywhere around. Luckily, he wasn't. So, Tony took that opportunity to pick open the doors and sneak out. It took him a good five, ten minutes to open the lock. But once he got it, he pushed open the doors and slid out, running off towards the gas station.

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

"Got anything Abs?" Gibbs asked loudly as he walked into Abby's lab holding her usual cup of CafPow!

Abby didn't even bother to look up. She was working furiously. Gibbs was surprised that smoke wasn't pouring out of that keyboard, she was typing so fast. "No, Gibbs! I haven't got anything! The stupid firewall is locking me out and AFIS _still _hasn't hit a match!" She cried, sounding upset. She typed again and again, trying several different combinations.

But the computer beeped again. "AUGH!" She screamed and cursed loudly.

Gibbs set down the CafPow! and took Abby by the shoulders, pulling her away from her work. "Abs… calm down. We'll find them. I promise we'll find them,"

"But what if we don't!" She cried, attempting to pull away. "Gibbs it's all my fault this happened! If I'd just _done my job _and ran that chemical through Mas-Spec, like I _knew_ I should've, this never would've-"

"Abby," Gibbs said firmly, cutting her off. "It's not you're fault. Got it? We'll find them. _I promise,"_

* * *

__Alright guys! Here's what's going to happen. Next chapter, we'll have some more of the team, and go more into depth with what case it was that they were working on. And sorry if I've got my medical stuff wrong, I'm trying my best but hey- I'm 16. I have no idea what I'm talking about :3

Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Alright guys! Here's the next chapter! Sorry for the long wait. I had writers block.

But before we begin, I'd like to thank some people for their reviews:

midnight, Darkwriter69, earthdragon, puppypants, Aussiepupluvr, Joban

THANKS GUYS! I would really like to thank midnight, especially, because his/her review gave me some inspiration xD

ENJOY!

* * *

_Jz-jz-jz-jz-jz-jz. _Silence. _Jz-jz-jz-jz-jz. _Silence. _Jz-jz-jz-jz-jz-jz. _Swear words. _Jz-jz-jz-jz-jzbbddmkadddDDDDRRROOMMMMMMM MMMMMMM! Puttputtputtputtputtputtputt puttputtputtputt… SKREE! Kffff. Puttputtputtputtputtputt- ERRRRRR, THUNK! Puttputtputtputtputtputt…_

_Rng…! Ohw… T-Tony…?_

McGee grunted as he came to, a few minutes later. He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. There was a huge noise in his head and everything was moving and-

Hang on.

It _was _moving.

The truck was shuffling down the highway. Swaying back and forth and back and forth… McGee shut his eyes afraid that he wouldn't be able to hold onto his lunch.

After his stomach calmed, McGee let his eyes slide open. It was dark. Too dark too see. And he was grateful for that. The light would have given him a huge headache… something wasn't right.

McGee felt his stomach do a flip-flop, bile rising in his throat. He suddenly wished there was a little bit of light.

"T-Tony?" McGee whimpered. No response. "T-Tony are you in here?" He slowly got onto his hands and knees (it was the closest he could get to standing) and crawled around the inside of the shipping container. "Tony, where are you?" He whimpered again as he looked for the senior field agent.

"Tony… please, are you in here? Tony, where are you? T-Tony!"

No response.

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

"Whatcha got for me Abs?" Gibbs asked as he walked briskly into Abby's lab.  
The young goth looked up from the computer. Her make-up was running; she'd been crying. But she had a look of steely determination in her eyes. "She doesn't exist, Gibbs,"

"Who doesn't?" He asked.

"Svetlana. She doesn't exist! I've searched every record I possibly could- there's no trace of her!"

"Someone erase her?" Gibbs asked.

"No, no. She never existed. It's all been a wild goose chase! All of her information, it's totally phony!"

Gibbs grunted, unhappily. "So, you're telling me that we _still _have no idea who killed out John Doe?"

Abby looked disappointed and shook her head. Gibbs turned to leave, but a sudden beeping stopped him. "What is that, Abs?" He asked.

"AFIS hit a match on our dead Petty Officer!" She exclaimed and went to look.

"Well, who is he?"

"His name is Nonmem Agga," She said with a quizzical look on her face.

A smirk crossed Gibbs face, and he leaned in to kiss Abby's cheek. "Good job, Abs," He said and ran off to the elevator. Moments later, he'd entered the Bull Pen, to check on Ziva's progress. "Anything?" He asked.

"Not yet, Gibbs. But I am working on it. I might be able to get a look at the truck driver's face if I can just… Gah!" She spat a curse under her breath. "I wish McGee were here," She mumbled. "I do hope they are alright…-"

_Ding!_

The elevator door opened slid open. A young woman walked out, and walked straight up to Gibbs, standing inches away from him. There was something off about this young woman… It was very clear. She had a strange tick, twitch her head every moment or so, and her left hand was clenched in an odd way, and moving all in obscure motions. Her eyes were wide, but seemed empty. She didn't blink once, and they seemed to be frozen in one place; she moved her whole head to look around. She had wild, frizzy, unkept blonde hair. She must've been color blind, because her clothes didn't match in the slightest. She wore a faded orange button down shirt that was stained, ripped, wrinkled, and buttoned in all the wrong places. She had red and black poke-a-dot pants (they must've been originally just red but she'd scribbled black dots on with a sharpy), and a blue and lime-green stripped jacket, and only had on one shoe, the laces poorly tied, on her left foot. Clearly, the stability of her mental status was a questionable matter.

"I need to tell you something. It's important," She said, seeming to stare right through Gibbs head. "Please, it's important. It's about the case. And your agents,"

Ziva cast him a wary glance, but Gibbs ignored it. This was not the time to judge people baised on their appeances. And any information was good enough for him. So he lead the young woman down to the interrogation room, Ziva following to watch.

Gibbs sat the woman down and sat across from her. "You said you have information,"

"I do. About your agents. About your case. About your future. I know things. Apollo tells me. And I'll tell you. But you won't believe me. It's my curse. No one believes me,"

Gibbs frowned. This was very, very odd. "What's your name?" He asked.

"I am Cassandra. I bear the curse of Apollo,"

On the other side of the glass, Ducky stepped in. "A hello, Ziva. Is Jethro here?" He asked.

"Yes. He is in there. This woman says she had information for us," Ziva informed him.

Ducky nodded. "How interesting…"

"I know who killed him. Aggamemnon. I know who killed him," Cassandra informed Gibbs.

Gibbs was at a loss at this point, and didn't interrupt.

"Clytemnesta killed him. Clytemnestra and Aegisthis. They are bad. They are bad people. They are going to destroy Troy. Illium is going to fall. You must stop the vicious cycle, before everyone is dead. Beware of Tisiphone, Megaera, and Alecto. But especially beware Tisiphone. Find Athena's Temple. Only Athena can save you. Your agents are but pawns of it. They will not live. Aegistis has made sure of it. But do no avenge them. The cycle must be broken! Death is death is death,"

"Jethro, can I talk to you for a moment?" Ducky's voice came into the room from the intercom.

Gibbs nodded and slipped out into the observation room. "What is it Duck?" He asked.

"Jethro, I believe this girl may be schizophrenic, having a psychotic break. She is referencing to the greek play _The Orestia. _In that play, the king of the Argives, Aggamemnon, was forced to sacrifice his daughter, Iffigenia, to Atremis. Clytemnestra and Aegistis then killed Aggamemnon to avenge Iffigenia, then Oresties, Aggamemnon's son, killed Clytemnestra to avenge Aggamemnon. That is the vicious cycle, Jethro,"

"What's all this about Persephone or whatever?" Gibbs asked.

"Tisiphone, Megaera and Alecto are the names of the three Furies. They are the goddesses of Vengence. Especially when a son kills his mother. In _The Orestia, _the Furies hunted down Oresties for killing his mother. Only Athena, goddess of justice, was able to save him,"

"What does all this have to do with our case?" Gibbs demanded.

Ducky shook his head. "I don't believe it does. Her information about Anthony and Timothy- Hm? What is that?" He turned to look at the girl, noticing the odd movements her hand was making. "Jethro… I believe she is trying to tell us something. Look at her hand! Give her a pen and some paper," Ducky instructed.

Gibbs gave him a wary look, but obliged, borrowing a pen from Ducky, and taking some paper out of the recycling bin.

He slipped back into the interrogation room. Cassandra didn't even look up. Carefully, Gibbs lifted her hand, placing the paper under it, and sliding the pen into her fingers.

Ducky was write! Much to their surprise, Cassandra began to scrawl letter after letter down on the paper until she had finished, and just started to repeat what she had written. Gibbs looked up to the place where he believed Ducky to be standing, taking the paper.

_jnfgbvdhnbsejegwqhnxmiusleta ndmpen  
mlfvotds235vhnhjhjnplnbghbgf vfjlljnbse  
vbisd238bbheuwlfnehwfnsmijfh wdndksld  
vbbkjevloufkougnvkunjwhdnwuh fbgkanfjen  
gshgwjnjkhvffocwaolnmyqhfnwh fjwjfhqbjdn  
hejfnwojhwavjjnjbhnklmhnlkit fhbvsawfhjnklm  
hfegvjdwhnlufjfnhqpsmvgfndha bfjbsbfhnfqold  
buwyfnsbthsmwhdnldighbwthdsn egsahagsag  
veolgnagfloehenfbwgfjebfgfjf wnwhepalmentus_

It was a long shot. Definitely a long shot. Probably the longest shot ever. It was unlikely it had anything to do with anything. She was crazy, just having a psychotic break. And whatever it was that she had written, it was total gibberish. It made no sense. But… It was something. There was a possibility. It was slim but it was possible. And he was going to take that chance.

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

"Oh boy… What… What happened last night?" Tony mumbled. The agonizing throbbing in his head lead him to believe that he'd been drinking the night before.

But when he cracked his eyes open, everything came crashing back to him like a back of bricks.

He was… he had just slipped out of the back of the truck. He had to get something for McGee! He'd ran inside and told the cashier that he and McGee were being held hostage, and McGee was seriously injured and to call the police- the cashier cut him off there. It was around midnight and the tired cashier had no time for nonsense. Clearly he hadn't been listening to the news.

So Tony searched around in his pockets –miraculously finding $50- and bought some supplies to help fix up McGee and himself.

After paying for the stuff, Tony booked it outside to a payphone he'd seen in the back of the building. He was running over when a pain had shot up his leg. White hot- it was the worst thing he'd ever felt. He'd floored it.

Tony peeled himself off of the pavement and looked around. It'd only been fifteen, twenty minutes.

He looked around and his heart stopped.

The truck…

The truck with McGee…

It was gone.

He'd been left behind.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I'll update again soon because I'm on Thanksgiving break.


	4. Chapter 4

The truck lurched and McGee gasped, gripping the small blanket he was curled up on. He coughed up just a little bit of blood and phlegm. He felt absolutely sick to his stomach, and he had a hunch that it had something to do with the pipe sticking out of his gut.

Tim curled up, gripping the thin blanket so hard his knuckles turned white. A tremor wracked his body and sweat beaded on his forehead. He tried to hold it in as best he could but it wasn't long before the tears trickled down his face. It just hurt… so bad! The young agent took in a deep, hitching breath. He wished Tony were here… he didn't want to be alone right now.

The agent shook his head and heaved a sigh. Worry suddenly cascaded over him. Tony was hurt pretty bad too… What if something had happened? What if he was… dead? McGee tried not to think about it. But the thought kept coming back. Kept gnawing at his brain.

"Please… Please let Tony be okay…" Tim's quiet, hitching voice squeaked into the sky, up towards some, any deity that could've heard him.

He gave a ragged cough. It was sort of pathetic. Somehow, he pulled himself up, leaning heavily against the wall. Suddenly, the truck swerved over to the right and dragged to a stop. McGee heard the driver door open and close. Foot steps. Then the back of the truck opened up and the driver stumbled in.

The man looked around and blanched. "Where's the other one?" He asked blatantly. He looked at McGee and stormed over to the injured agent. "WHERE'S THE OTHER AGENT?" He roared at McGee.

McGee gulped and couldn't help but to shrink down and whimper. But he steeled himself quickly and gave a rather pathetic smirk. "I'm not telling you," He rasped, defiantly. He pushed himself up to a sitting position as best he could.

The truck driver brought his hand down across McGee's face. The young agent grunted and slumped down. He must've landed badly on the pipe because he cried out and gasped and couldn't get back up.

The man picked McGee up by his hair and held a knife to his throat. "Tell ne where he went of I'll slit your throat, I swear!" The man yelled.

"N-no! I Won't!" McGee yelled as best he could. There was a chance that Tony had escaped and was out there getting help. And McGee wasn't going to let anything compromise that.

"That little weasel got out at the gas station didn't he!" The man concluded. "You, boy, better pray I find him. Because if Aegisthis finds out I didn't bring both of you… I'm gonna be in big trouble. And I swear, you'll be in for Hell," He growled. Then whipped around and stormed out the door, slamming the door behind him. Within moment, the truck started up again. And McGee knew that he'd stop at nothing until they found DiNozzo. He could only pray that Tony got away…

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

Ziva was fraught with worry. Worried about her friends. According to the crazy lady, both McGee and DiNozzo were pawns in a game. They were of no use to – whoever had taken them, and they would be killed quickly. Ziva shuddered at the thought of loosing two of her best friends, but other than that she didn't let her fear show.

_That woman is crazy. _Ziva tried to reassure herself. _She believes the ancient Greek god of the sun is telling her the future. There is no way on earth that the woman could possibly know the fate of Tim and Tony. There is no way._

_Talking to her was a waste of our time. She claimed to have knowledge of who killed Aggamemnon but there is no Aggamemnon here. It was all a story. Now- _Ziva's train of thought stopped dead in it's tracks, when realization hit her.

The John Doe… Nonmem Agga… She knew it was a ridiculous name! It couldn't possibly be that man's real name… Nonmemagga… Aggamemnon! It was Aggamemnon spelled backwards!

Ziva shot up like a rocket. "Gibbs!" She cried urgently.

Gibbs was walking down the stairs from M-TAC when he heard Ziva's voice. He looked up and hustled down the stairs. "Whatcha got, Ziver?" He asked.

"Gibbs, our John Doe- er, Nonmem Agga! It is just a ploy Gibbs! The woman, Cassandra was right all along! Nonmem Agga is just Aggamemnon spelled backwards! Cassandra said she knew who killed Aggamemnon! She actually does have relevant information!" She cried, trying to explain it all in one breath.

Gibbs' eyes went wide. "Son of a-" He cut off there and went running down the hallway. He stopped dead in his tracks when shots rang out.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Gibbs realized, with horror, that the shots were coming from the room where he had interviewed Cassandra! Gibbs high tailed it towards the room, and gasped in horror at what he saw.

The girl, Cassandra was laying in a pool of blood on the floor. There were three gun shot wounds across her abdomen. The gun, only a few inches from her weak body.

The girl gurgled. Gibbs rushed to her side and pressed down on the wound, only to have blood spew from her mouth.

"A-a-agent-gent… G-G-I-Ibbs…" She rasped.

"Hey, sh… Don't speak… We're gonna get you outta here. Stay with us, got it?" Gibbs cooed to the girl, before turning around and yelling, "YOU! GET DUCKY UP HERE NOW!"

Cassandra tugged on Jethro's sleeve, and the older man turned around to face her.

"C-C-Cly-lytemnestra… A-a…nd… A-A-Aegis-is-isthis… K-killed me… I-I saw… Th-their… fa-… … faces…" She sputtered.

"Hey, Cassandra. Stop talking. You'll be okay. We're gonna get you outta here, but you have to stay with me. You got it? Stay with me,"

"The-… The… c-ycle…. Ha-ha-has b-begun… … …" And with that, the woman went limp, eyes rolling back and closing.

Ducky got there just in time to pronounce the woman dead.

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

"Let go of me! Let go! Rng! Let go!"

Tim awoke to the sound of a voice, outside the truck. It took him a few moments for the young agent to realize the truck was stopped and no longer moving.

And that voice…

It sounded like Tony!

Suddenly, the back of the truck opened and someone was thrown inside.

"T-tony?"

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

Ziva had never seen Gibbs so angry before. Ducky was downstairs doing the autopsy, on the woman Cassandra. But it was very clear what the cause of death would be.

At any rate, Gibbs was furious. He was upstairs talking- or more like yelling- to Director Vance about how some, albeit, terrorist got into the building and killed his only lead.

Albeit, Gibbs was angry because he felt, in some way, responsible for the young girl's death. Responsible because he couldn't stop her from dying.

Ziva flipped on the news, on the TV in the squadroom, hoping to find something- anything, on the news. Of course, she was exhausted, having worked for hours on end, and ended up falling asleep at her desk.

When Gibbs came back, the news had ended and National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, had started playing.

Gibbs sat down at his desk and looked at the piece of paper Cassandra has written the assortment of letters on. As he stared at the paper, he only caught two words from the movie.

Two words that gave him an idea that might turn the whole case around.

Two words.

"_Playfair cipher,"_


	5. Chapter 5

Woot woot! I'm proud! two chapters in two days!

Thanks to Olivia94, waikiki23, , and Meilea2010 for your lovely reviews!

* * *

Gibbs paced around the dark room, where the timid young agent was working hard to decode the playfair cipher. "Anything yet Agent…"

"Agent Isles, sir," The young man answered him.

Funny. The timid young agent reminded Gibbs of McGee when he first joined the team. It was uncanny really.

"Glad you know your own name, son, but you still haven't answered my question! Has your computer program uncoded anything yet?" Gibbs practically roared.

"N-no, not yet, sir," Agent Isles stuttered.

"Well why not?" Gibbs roared.

"I-it's not that simple, s-sir!" Agent Isles cried desperately. "P-playfair ciphers require a five letter keyword,"

"A keyword?"

"Yeah, like a word or a phrase. I-it has to be five letters, though. Only five, and none of the letters can be repeated,"

"What?" Gibbs was confused now, the young agent was speaking so fast he could barely be understood.

"L-like the word, food,"

"Food?"

"Food. I-it's got two 'O's. So it couldn't be the keyword. That and the fact that it's only five letters. So-"

"So why are you telling me this if it's not the keyword why are you telling me this?!" Gibbs asked harshly.

"I-I-I… I…"

Gibbs rolled his eyes, and Gibbs-slapped the kid. "Get it together, McGee! Go, call Abby to help you out, I don't have all day!"

"My n-names Isles, sir… N-not McGee," The agent whimpered.

Gibbs froze up. He knew that… McGee wasn't there… Of course he wasn't! McGee and DiNozzo were the ones they were trying to save… Guess he was just so used to McGee doing all the tech stuff, he'd accidentally called Agent Isles McGee…

Gosh, he'd really taken that tech stuff for granted. And in all fairness, he missed McGee. McGee could've had this code cracked in just a few minutes. This kid, agent Isles, was taking almost an hour and a half and had nothing.

Gibbs shook his head. "Hey, kid, what did I just say! Get Abby down here and-"

"I can't, sir," Agent Isles squeaked.

"And why the heck can't you?"

"Director's orders, sir,"

"Oh, don't 'sir' me, agent Isles!" Gibbs said. "What do you mean Director's orders?"

"I mean just that, sir- er… Agent Gibbs!" Agent Isles started. "Director Vance specifically told me that if you came by, that Abby is to go nowhere near this playfair cipher,"

"Now why would she say that?" Gibbs asked.

"I-I don't know…"

"What do you know, agent Isles?" Gibbs growled. "Can you find the keyword? Crack the code?"

"I can run it through a computer program… yes, sir, I can, but it'll take some time,"

"How long?"

"Hours, maybe days?"

"You have two hours then I'm giving it to Abby, no matter what Director Vance says," Gibbs said turning on his foot and whipping around. He walked away at a quick pace.

AGENT LASTWISH: HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

"So what, you're going over my head now, Leon?" Gibbs asked. Director Leon Vance wasn't surprised to find him in her office when she walked in.

"Depends on what you're talking about, Agent Gibbs," He said simply.

"I'm talking about you forbidding me from letting Abby work on this case!" Gibb said.

"Ah yes. That matter. I had a feeling that you might be a little upset about that,"

"A little upset! Leon she's part of my team too! She deserves to work on this case as well!"

"Well as I said before, I'm forbidding it!" Leon announced.

"Why in the heck are you doing that?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"Face it Gibbs. She's too attached to the victims in this case,"

"The _victims_?" Gibbs roared. "They are NOT _victims_. They are my _agents_!"

"Not in this case. In this case, they're the victims. And as with any case-"

"This is not just any ordinary case, Leon! They're our own! And you better expect me to use all my resources in this case especially!" Gibbs said forcefully.

"I'm pulling Abby from this case because it's too personal for her. It says in her file that she and Agent McGee were dating. That makes it too personal. I don't want her work to become sloppy in a desperate attempt to get your team mates back. Which is why-" Director Vance started but was cut off.

"Her work is never sloppy, Leon!" Gibbs said angrily. "We're using our resources. All of them! Including Ab-"

"WHICH IS WHY," Vance started loudly. "I'm pulling you and Agent David from the case as well,"


	6. Chapter 6

Yay! Chapter six is out. I apologize for the shortness of the previous chapters, I was having a bad case of writer's block, but I seem to have over come it and I promise the next few chapters will be much longer.  
I also apologize for a little mix up in my story. As was pointed out, it seems that I accidentally talked had Director Shepard in one chapter and Vance in another. I was originally going to use Director Shepard, but decided to switch to Vance as it seemed more of his character. Please note, that I have edited the chapter so it's only director Vance, not Shepard.  
Also, please note, that I am in no way trying to bash Director Vance. I'm only trying to create more drama, and I can see pulling Team Gibbs from the case for fear that the case is too personal for them, as something Director Vance would do. I am in no way, trying to bash him, and if that is the feeling you got from it, then I am truly sorry, it was not my intentions.

Thank you all for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting my story! And thanks to Gottahavemyncis, Meilea2010, waikiki23, , Eni01, NuthatchXi, puppypants, FallenAngel218, and Evil Cosmic Triplets for your reviews, it really means a lot to me!

Enjoy!

* * *

Tony groaned. The silence was boring into him like the eyes of a malevolent creature. He was in massive amounts of pain, all radiating from his leg. Tony had been sitting on the cement in the parking lot of the gas station, when the truck driver pulled up. Tony had gotten up and began to run away, as fast as his legs would carry him, despite his injuries. But the man was driving a truck, and of course, the speed of the truck, greatly outran poor Tony, who never really stood a chance of getting away. The man pulled out a gun and suddenly fired at Tony. The driver fired three to five times, and one bullet caught Tony in the calf. Of course, what happened next was given. The man got out of the car and dragged Tony into the back of the truck where McGee lay. The supplies Tony had purchased, were still outside in the parking lot.

Tony lay in the back of the truck, in close proximity to McGee, who'd fallen unconscious, and was trembling in a rather concerning fever. By this time, Tony had managed to stop the blood from his own wound, but was trembling himself from the loss of blood. He was in bad shape, not as bad as McGee, but he still needed medical attention ASAP. And though he'd managed to staunch the blood from his wound with an old towel he'd found, he was still in horrible pain. Although He was thankful, because he knew it could've been worse. If the man had shot him even a little higher, he would've hit Tony in the back of the knee. Not only would that have been excruciatingly painful, but there was an impossibly high chance that the bullet would have done serious damage to his leg; an injury to his knee that sever could've cost him the use of his leg, or his leg entirely.

Tony shivered at the thought. There was a young police officer – a detective actually- named Sammy Kindle who was a good friend Tony's back when he was still working for Baltimore PD. Sammy had only just been promoted to a detective, when he was assigned an undercover case in the middle of a huge drug ring. Sammy got the evidence they needed to bust the creeps. But on the last day of his undercover work, just as the other cops and detectives were driving up to bust the guys, Sammy's cover was blown. In retrospect, it didn't matter. They already had the evidence they needed to send the guys to jail for a long, long time. However, it was a very bad slip up for Sammy. The creeps didn't kill him. They were going to, but decided better against it, knowing the cops were already there, and it would basically be like killing a cop in front of a bunch of cops. So instead of shooting him in the skull, they shot him three times in the knee. Tony had been one of the police officers helping with the bust, and he could here Sammy's screams. Sammy ended up loosing his use of his leg. Actually, he lost his leg entirely. Doctors couldn't remove the bullets, which had embedded themselves in poor Sammy's knee, without totally destroying the kid's knee. And leaving them in wasn't an option because they were lead and would've killed the kid anyways. So they had no choice but to amputate. It ruined the kid's life. And Tony had to watch his friend fall hard.

Tony shook himself, from the memory. It wasn't one he like to think about, but given the circumstances, he was grateful he had something like that to call to memory. He was grateful for two reasons. One, it gave him something to think about, which was important, especially now, when he was fighting for consciousness from shock of blood loss and shock of getting shot. And two, having something like that to think about, really made him humble in a situation like this. If the man had shot him six inches up, Tony'd be toast.

Tony realized just how lucky he was. He realized just how lucky McGee was as well… It was a miracle they were both still alive. Tony went back to thinking about his leg, how it could've been totally destroyed, his life ruined. It was a pivotal moment in his life. Six inches up, and his life would've changed forever. Ten minutes or so passed, and Tony had completely zoned out. He was thinking about whatever he could to keep himself awake.

Suddenly, something snapped DiNozzo to his senses. He wasn't sure what it was… but then it came again! It sounded like a voice… a voice? Impossible! Maybe he was going crazy. It sounded like it was in his head, but then again… it didn't really feel like just his own thought…

_It's too quiet DiNozzo… _The voice, or the thought, whatever it was, had whispered.

Then, suddenly, Tony's eyes snapped open. He recognized the voice!

_Something's not right, Tony…_

It was Kate! It was Kate's voice!

_Check on your partner!_

Suddenly, Tony woke up. He must've fallen asleep thinking about Sammy… He couldn't have been asleep for more than a moment or so. But what an odd dream he'd had… He'd dreamt that he was here, in the back of the semi, and all of the sudden, Kate was talking to him! What had she said? Something's not right… it's too quiet… check on your partner… McGee!

Tony sat up as best he could and moved over to his young partner. That's when he realized something was very, very, very off. McGee was still. Way too still. His face was pale and his lips were turning blue. On instinct Tony felt for a pulse and for several, terrifying moments, felt nothing. Tony began to feel tears pricking the back of his eyes.

"No, no, no! You can't leave me yet, probie! That's an order!" He cried growing panicked.

Still, Tony felt nothing. He was about to start CPR, when, much to his relief, he found a pulse that was so impossibly faint, any other person in the world would've called him dead.

That's when he realized that McGee wasn't breathing!

He rolled the agent onto his back and, being extremely careful of the pipe, began to start CPR. He clasped his hands together and pressed down on McGee's sternum with all his weight until he went down two inches. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. He did thirty chest compressions and checked again. Still not breathing! He continued the chest compressions. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Crack! Crack! One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Tony felt bad, as usually happens when doing CPR, he'd cracked one of McGee's ribs. Sure, McGee would be a little soar, but it didn't matter if it was going to save his partner's life!

"Come one, McGee… Don't make me kiss you…" He said quietly. He was talking to himself. Telling himself things like that, trying to lighten the mood. Trying to keep himself calm.

One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. Thirty compressions. Still nothing. Tony propped McGee's head up, and plugged his nose, before breathing into the younger agent's mouth. With his hand on McGee's chest, Tony realized that even when he breathed for him, McGee's chest still wasn't moving! There was something obstructing his wind pipe!

Tony held McGee's mouth open, and put his finger down Tim's throat hoping to find anything that would be obstructing the way. Tony fished out clumps of thick phlegm and blood. Hoping that did it, he pinched Tim's nose closed and breathed out. Much to his relief, McGee's chest moved up and down, he'd managed to clear out the blockage. He breathed a couple more times before starting chest compressions. One, two, three, four, one two, three, four. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, all the way to thirty. Still nothing, so he went back to mouth-to-mouth. A couple of breaths then back to chest compressions. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. One, two, three, four, one, two-

McGee began to cough and sputter. Tony sighed in relief, feeling his whole body ache from the tension he's been holding, and his leg throbbed. He didn't notice how badly it had been hurting until now. Thank adrenaline for that. He rolled Tim onto his side into the Recovery Position, letting the blood and phlegm dribble from his mouth, so it wouldn't choke him. He wiped the young man's mouth with the towel he'd found, and used to stop the bleeding of his own wound. Even though he was asleep, pain coursed across Tim's face. Tony knew that if they didn't get him medical attention, fast, McGee would die.

Obviously, the truck driver didn't want either of them to die, because he took the time to hunt Tony down when he escaped, and didn't kill him. So Maybe, Tony could get the man to take McGee to a clinic in some tiny town… but first he had to get the driver's attention.

Looking around, Tony got an idea. He got to his feet and cried out from the pain of putting pressure on his leg. He hobbled over to the other end of the truck. He undid the latch and the bolts that kept the door closed, and forced the door open. Tony was surprised to see the sun beginning to rise on the horizon, but quickly shook his head. There was no one else on the road, and he was grateful for that, because he didn't want to hurt anybody with the stunt he was about to pull.

There were several boxes in the back of the truck and Tony pushed them, limping, over to the edge of the truck. The driver hit a pot hole and the truck lurched. Tony nearly fell out. The boxes flew out the back and scattered on the road. Tony smiled. This is what he wanted to happen. Surely this would get the driver's attention!

And it did.

The driver slowed down greatly and pulled over to the side of the road, slamming on his breaks, which forced Tony out of the truck. He skidded across the road, getting covered in a pretty nasty road rash, but was other wise OK.

The man jumped out of the truck and stormed over to Tony, picking him up by the throat and threw him in the back of the truck.

"Just what in the heck do you think you're doing?!" He roared. "You attempting another stupid escape attempt boy? 'Cause if you are, I'mma have no choice but to punish you for it,"

Tony grunted, but smirked and got to his feet. "I had to get your attention," He said simply.

"By wingin' all my cargo out the back?" He roared. "You idiot! I need that stuff! They was all other shipments!" He yelled. "Come here, boy! I'm gonna beat you so bad, that-"

"Would you just shut up for a second?" Tony yelled.

The man was so stunned, that he actually did shut up.

"Listen. I know that it's important to whoever you're delivering us to, that we get there alive. _Both _of us. I'm going to make it there just fine. But McGee, he's going to die unless we get him to a hospital. Fast,"

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to take you two to a hospital? And blow my cover?" The man growled.

"No us, just McGee. It'll go faster if it's just him," Tony bit the inside of his cheek. He had an idea. A bribe of sorts. "Twenty-four hours in the hospital. That's all I ask. That'll be enough time to perform surgery and get the pipe out, and get him in a stable condition. Then after twenty four hours, you can sneak him out. And we'll be on the road again," Tony felt horrible about making this deal. That meant that McGee wouldn't have any pain medication after surgery. He was going to be in a world of hurt. But it was the only way that McGee would possibly survive this ordeal. "And look, he'll be in so much pain that he won't be able to fight back. It'll make your trip a lot easier," Tony gulped feeling worse with every word he spoke.

"Why are you telling me this? It seems an awful lot like your helping me," The man said skeptically.

"Look, he's my partner… and I just don't want him to die," DiNozzo said truthfully. Then he wished he hadn't. Know the man knew how to bribe Tony, how to get him to do what he was told. All he had to do was threaten the life of McGee.

The man thought about this for a long time. "You'll die anyways. But it seems I don't have a choice now do I. Clytemnestra and Aegisthis demanded I bring both of you to them _alive. _They made it very clear that it had to be the two of you, and you both had to be alive. So I'll do what you ask," He said with a smirk. "There's a clinic a few miles from here, about half an hour. Think the kid can make it that long?" He asked.

Tony looked back at his fallen partner and gulped. _I hope so… _


End file.
